


Oubliette

by scullywolf



Series: TXF: Scenes in Between [57]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Drowning, F/M, Gen, Introspection, MSR, Minor Character Death, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 11:04:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4826708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullywolf/pseuds/scullywolf





	Oubliette

_“By the time the EMS guys got here, she was already gone.”  
_

It was a rough night.

Mulder was hit hard by Lucy Householder's death, harder still than Scully expected, even knowing how emotionally invested he'd let himself become. For her part, Scully had to devote most of her energy and focus to Amy Jacobs, which forced her to temporarily push aside her concern for her partner. She had not, however, missed his shining eyes and tear-streaked face when they’d gotten Amy back to the ambulance waiting at the house. Her heart constructed in sympathy for him, but she had quickly been drawn away to confer with the medics about Amy’s condition.

She tried to call him from the hospital several times, on both his cell and in his motel room, but he didn't pick up. When she finally returned to the motel herself, sometime after midnight, the “Do Not Disturb” sign hung on the doorknob of his room. She hesitated outside, her hand poised to knock, before sighing and deciding to take a hint. He was undoubtedly angry with her for siding with Agent Eubanks in viewing Lucy as a suspect rather than a victim. Some part of him probably held her at least somewhat accountable for Lucy's death, though knowing Mulder, not as accountable as he held himself. 

Scully walked softly to her own room and let herself inside. There would be time for apologies and sympathy in the morning.

He was gone already by the time she awoke, the only trace of him a note shoved under her door. 

_Checking out and going back by the halfway house. See you at the airport._

She read his hurried scrawl, frowning, then took a shower and headed for the hospital. Amy was in surprisingly good condition, considering her ordeal. Scully looked over her medical chart, shocked by the lack of reported injuries or evidence of trauma. The girl had spent the better part of the previous afternoon and evening being dragged through the woods, but an examination had revealed no injuries, not even minor ones.

When she asked about the accuracy of the charts, Scully was brushed aside. Both the doctor and Amy’s mother denied her permission to perform an in-depth examination of her own, but even in the course of her brief interview with the girl, she could see that the scratches she’d noted on Amy’s face when Mulder had pulled her out of the river appeared to have healed completely.

As if that weren’t strange enough, after taking statements from Amy’s parents, Scully made her way to the Seattle Field Office to pick up a copy of the autopsy report on Lucy Householder; what she read made her jaw drop.

“Oh my god,” she murmured. “Mulder was right.”

Despite never leaving the back of an FBI motor pool sedan, Lucy Householder had drowned. Her body was covered with fresh scratches and contusions, and the bottoms of her feet were practically raw, as if she had run barefoot through the woods for miles. 

And somehow, Mulder had seen it all, this inexplicable connection that was so improbable, that defied _physics_ , let alone logic and reason. She had worried about him getting too close, about his judgment being clouded -- to be fair, he had displayed all of the indications with textbook accuracy -- and all the while, he was the only one who had actually seen the truth. She felt abashed and, if she were honest, a little bit awestruck.

Forget meeting him at the airport. He had a right to know about the autopsy results, without waiting. She got back in her rental and headed directly to the halfway house.  



End file.
